This invention relates to an apparatus and method of applying a magnetic therapy to the feet, and legs of a person, while wearing a shoe, consisting of an insole insert for the shoe, and the insole insert having three layers of material, the one of which is a magnet therapy material, and the other two layers being a top cushion, and a bottom cushion.
The art of utilizing magnets for therapeutic purposes is well known, and is an old art. It has even been applied to complete beds, as taught in the art of Komuro, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,017, wherein a plurality of permanent magnets are fitted between two fibrous sheets of material, creating a sleeping mat for a person. Certain therapeutic effects are claimed for this device when a person sleeps on the mat. Such a large device would not be applicable for the feet of a person.
Another application for this magnetic effect is taught in the art of Susic, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,003, wherein a person is completely surrounded by pulsating magnets, the magnetic effect being a massage effect to the person, and the massage effect produced by a low frequency, low voltage pulse generator. Here again, a certain therapeutic effect is claimed to be produced by the art. This art would certainly not be applicable to an insole for a shoe.
Still another approach to using magnets for therapeutic purposes is taught in the art of King, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,513, wherein a cushioned mat, or seat, is taught for use in a truck cab, while one of the drivers is sleeping. In this art, the magnets are arranged as a mat, and keeps the sleeping person suspended in a magnetic shock absorbing effect, while at the same time producing the therapeutic effect to the sleeping person. Again, this device would not be applicable to the feet of a person.